Sydney Institute of Criminology
CrimNet
12 August 2022
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The CrimNet newsletter is sponsored by the Sydney Institute of Criminology. CrimNet provides regular communication between criminal justice professionals, practitioners, academics and students in Australia and overseas. Share CrimNet with your peers and help grow the network.
The University of Sydney’s central campus sits on the lands of the Cadigal people of the Eora nation and has campuses as well as teaching and research facilities situated on the ancestral lands of the Wangal, Deerubbin, Tharawal, Ngunnawal, Wiradjuri, Gamilaroi, Bundjulong, Wiljali and Gereng Gureng peoples. We pay our respects to elders, past, present, and emerging who have cared and continue to care for Country.
CULTURAL ADVICE: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are advised that CrimNet may contain distressing material and images or names of people who have died.
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Institute Events and Activities
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Neurotechnology, law and the legal profession
Sydney Institute of Criminology deputy director and criminal law scholar Dr Allan McCay has published a world-first report, commissioned by the Law Society of England and Wales.
The report sets out the challenges and opportunities that developments in neurotechnology may bring for the profession, and the impact it may have on cognitive performance and the way lawyers work.
How will brain-monitoring technology influence the practice of law?
Neurotechnology is used to interact directly with the brain by monitoring and recording brain activity or acting to influence it. Advances in decades to come could lead to lawyers grappling with the human rights implications of brain monitoring and manipulation.
Anticipating the challenges and opportunities
This report contends that in the coming years neurotechnology will make an impact on the law thereby creating challenges and opportunities. Looking further into the future, it may also impact on the way lawyers work and their cognitive performance. The precise magnitude and nature of the impact is uncertain.
“This tech is coming, and we need to think about regulation now,” said Dr McCay. “Action is needed now as there are already vested interests in the commercial world. We need decisions to be made at the level of society and at the level of businesses around ethics and law."
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Sydney Institute of Criminology Seminar Series
Professor Colin King and Dr Saskia Hufnagel
On 10 August Sydney Institute of Criminology welcomed Professor King from the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies University of London and Dr Hufnagel Reader in Criminal Law at Queen Mary, University of London.
Dr Saskia Hufnagel presented her research on multi-agency intelligence sharing in the United Kingdom. She discussed cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence agencies in the United Kingdom, the ‘UK Model’ of multi-agency intelligence sharing; legal, sociological, and organisational obstacles, and police operations in the UK. She also examined reform from a legal-institutional and historical perspective of counterterrorism and serious and organised crime policing.
Professor Colin King spoke about confiscating proceeds of crime without criminal conviction. He discussed the utilization by law enforcement agencies of non-conviction based (NCB) confiscation of assets for the purpose of targeting organised crime groups. In his research, Professor King draws upon semi-structured qualitative interviews to present an alternative perspective to the academic literature on NCB confiscation by exploring enforcement practitioners’ views and responses to criticism.
We were delighted to participate in an engaging hybrid discussion and hear from two international experts in the combined areas of law enforcement cooperation, comparative constitutional and human rights law, proceeds of crime, anti-money laundering law and practice, financial crime, including corporate crime, and deferred prosecution agreements, as well as criminal evidence and criminal justice, especially in relation to legal responses to organised crime and terrorism.
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Current Issues in Criminal Justice (CICJ) provides detailed analysis of national and international issues by a range of outstanding contributors. It includes contemporary comments, with discussion at the cutting edge of the crime and justice debate, as well as reviews of recently released books.
CICJ accepts submissions on a rolling basis.
You can access current and previous issues of Current Issues in Criminal Justice here.
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NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research: NSW Custody Statistics June 2022
Published 4 August 2022
New figures released today by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) show that in June 2022 there were 12,336 adults in custody in NSW. This is 1,000 people fewer than three years ago, prior to the pandemic (13,403 in June 2019).
While the overall adult prison population remains low, the number of Aboriginal adults in custody grew by 3.4% or 117 people in the last three months.
In contrast to the general prison population, the number of Aboriginal prisoners is now higher than before the pandemic (3,581 Aboriginal adults in prison in June 2022 compared to 3,474 in June 2019).
Commenting on the findings Jackie Fitzgerald said "unfortunately the COVID-related fall in the prison population was short-lived for Aboriginal people. Since June 2019, the Aboriginal male population has grown by 2.9% (91 people) to 3,258. The Aboriginal female population also rose to 323, a growth of 5.2% (16 people)".
"Of additional concern is that Aboriginal over-representation in the prison system is also growing: Aboriginal men now account for 28% of the male prison population while Aboriginal women comprise a staggering 40% of the female prison population. These trends are in contradiction to the commitment to Close the Gap and reduce Aboriginal people's over-representation in the criminal justice system by at least 15% by 2031".
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Qld police used spit hoods on youths just six months ago, hearing told
Matt Dennien
3 August 2022
Police have used spit hoods on 20 young people in Queensland watchhouses since 2015 – up to as recently as six months ago. The hoods, which are made of fabric and placed over a detainee’s head to stop them spitting or biting, carry suffocation risks if not used properly.
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Transfer of Banksia Hill detainees to Casuarina Prison a sign of a 'broken' system, retired judge says
Rhiannon Shine
3 Aug 2022
The longest-serving president of Western Australia's children's court has slammed the state's youth justice system as "broken" and "a basket case".
Key points:
- Banksia Hill is the only dedicated youth detention centre in Western Australia
- In April, WA's prisons watchdog outlined "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" of detainees in Banksia Hill's ISU
- Around 500 current and former youth detainees have given statements as part of a class-action lawsuit alleging mistreatment at the detention centre
Retired Judge Denis Reynolds said the recent transfer of teenage boys from Banksia Hill Detention Centre to an adult prison was "appalling" and "the result of ongoing incompetence". Mr Reynolds, who served as president of the Children's Court of Western Australia for 14 years, was also one of the longest-serving judicial officers in the nation.
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Sending teens to maximum security prisons shows Australia needs to raise the age of criminal responsibility
Piero Moraro
11 August 2022
The recent transfer of a “difficult cohort” of teenagers to a maximum-security adult prison in Western Australia raises familiar questions about Australia’s prison system.
The 17 young detainees have “significant offending histories” and had for months been destroying infrastructure, assaulting staff and harming themselves at Perth’s Banksia Hill juvenile centre, according to the head of the WA justice department, Adam Tomison. Tomison didn’t elaborate on what led to these incidents.
According to Gerry Georgatos, coordinator of the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, the damaged cells were a sign of the strain detainees were under at Banksia Hill.
Premier Mark McGowan and Corrective Services Commissioner Mike Reynolds said the government had been left with no choice. The transfer was a necessary circuit-breaker, they argued, to provide greater security and safety for the management of the detainees.
While no time frame has been specified, the WA government has described the move to Casuarina Prison as “temporary”.
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Aboriginal teen’s death in prison would likely have been prevented if he’d seen a cardiologist, WA coroner finds
10 August 2022
The 19-year-old suffered rheumatic heart disease and ‘urgently needed an appointment and it may have saved his life’, report states
An Aboriginal teenager who died in prison from complications due to rheumatic heart disease would not have died if he had seen a specialist, a Western Australian coroner has found.
The 19-year-old Miriuwung and Gajerrong man, referred to by the court at his family’s request as Mr Yeeda, died in May 2018 at the West Kimberley regional prison after suffering severe aortic regurgitation stemming from his condition.
He collapsed shortly after playing basketball.
WA coroner Ros Fogliani said there were missed opportunities to ensure Yeeda received appropriate medical care, including a failure to follow up on a request for an appointment with a specialist cardiologist.
In findings released last month and published this week, Fogliani wrote that if the teenager had undergone aortic valve replacement surgery, “it is likely that his death would have been prevented”.
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New immigration detention bill could give Australia a fresh chance to comply with international law
Cleo Hansen-Lohrey
Tamara Wood
11 August 2022
Last week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie reintroduced to federal parliament the Ending Indefinite and Arbitrary Immigration Detention Bill 2022. This bill gives Australia the chance to bring its immigration detention regime in line with basic international law requirements for the first time since 1992.
Wilkie’s bill presents a timely opportunity for the new federal government to reform a regime that leading legal and human rights organisations have called “inhumane, unnecessary, and unlawful”.
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Sexual exploitation by UN peacekeepers in DRC: fatherless children speak for first time about the pain of being abandoned
Kirstin Wagner
9 August 2022
My father left my mother while she was pregnant – she gave birth when he had already left. People call me “daughter of a bitch”. They disturb and hurt me so much. They say they will chase me because I am a foreigner. I am suffering.
These are the words of Emma* – a 13-year-old girl from Beni, a city in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) near its border with Uganda. Emma’s mother Grace* was still in school when she met and became involved with a Uruguayan soldier working in DRC as a United Nations peacekeeper. When Grace got pregnant, ‘Javier’ promised his support and told her not to worry. Grace was under the impression they would get married and start a family.
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Brazil’s Illegal Mining Operations Aided by Remote Secret Airstrips
TCR
2 August 2022
Hundreds of airstrips have been secretly built on protected lands in Brazil to fuel the illegal mining industry, including 61 in this Yanomami Indigenous territory. A New York Times investigation identified more than 1,200 other unregistered airstrips across the Brazilian Amazon — many of them part of criminal networks that are destroying Indigenous lands and threatening their people.
The airstrips have propelled such a rapid expansion of illegal mining on the supposedly protected land of the Yanomami people that crime has grown out of control and government workers are too scared to return. The thriving illicit industry has surged under President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, who has faced constant global criticism for allowing the Amazon to be pillaged during his administration. On Yanomami land alone law enforcement officials estimate that 30,000 miners are working illegally on territory protected by the government.
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Mexican drug cartels burn cars in retaliation to a military operation which arrested eight
AFP
11 August2022
Suspected Mexican drug cartel members set fire to vehicles in two states after a military operation targeted an apparent meeting of gang bosses, authorities have said. One person was killed and several arrested after the chaos on in Jalisco and Guanajuato, two of Mexico's most violent states, officials said.
Key points:
- The arrests took place after a meeting of two gangs was shut down by a military operation
- Burnt out vehicles were left blocking highways in retaliation to the arrests
- Surveillance camera footage showed gunmen forcing a driver out of his car
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Over 80 men accused of raping eight women appear in South African court
2 August
More than 80 men suspected of the gang rapes of eight women and the armed robbery of a video production crew in the South African town of Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, have appeared in court.
The men were arrested at an abandoned mining site following the rapes and robbery near the disused mine.
The suspects are allegedly illegal miners known as zama-zamas who dig for gold in the Johannesburg area’s many closed mine shafts. Many of the miners are foreigners, according to local reports. The zama-zama gangs of illegal miners are also blamed for widespread crime in the area, according to local people.
The gang rapes occurred when a crew filming a music video at one of the abandoned mines was attacked by armed men on Thursday last week, according to police.
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Incarcerated Women: Forgotten Victims of Abortion Bans
Annika Agarwal
11 August
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, nearly every woman, particularly women of reproductive age, is anxious about the future, as many states move to ban abortion.
But one group that is often forgotten, yet quite possibly is the most vulnerable, comprises incarcerated women.
Nationally, there are 58,000 women pregnant behind bars. Put another way, roughly 3 percent of female admissions to U.S. jails are pregnant people, according to a 2020 study.
Currently, these women receive less than adequate pregnancy care. Eliminating the right to an abortion will only worsen their access to proper life-saving healthcare.
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Publications
All open access unless indicated.
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The Role of the Media in Criminal Justice Policy. Prisons, Populism and the Press. London. Routledge
Natalia Antolak-Saper
Abstract: This book provides a socio-legal examination of the media’s influence on the development and implementation of criminal justice policy. This impact is often assumed. And, especially in the wake of high-profile crimes, the press is routinely observed calling for sentences to be harsher, and for governments to be tougher on crime. But how do we know that there is a connection? To answer this question, the book draws on a case study of the media reporting of the rape and murder of Jill Meagher in Melbourne, Australia; as well as other well-known cases, including those of James Bulger, Sarah Payne, Stephen Lawrence and Michael Brown, among others. Deploying a socio-legal framework to examine how the media’s often powerful and emotive narratives play a crucial role in the development and implementation of law, the book provides a deep and critical reflection on its influence. The book concludes with a number of suggestions for media reform: both to moderate the media’s influence, and to incorporate a broader range of viewpoints. This multi-disciplinary book will appeal to scholars and students in sociolegal studies, criminology and criminal law as well as those working in relevant areas in sociology and media studies.
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Co-production and Criminal Justice. Routledge (2022)
Johns, D. Flynn, C. Hall, M. Spivakovsky, C. Turner, S.
This book explores practical examples of co-production in criminal justice research and practice. Through a series of seven case studies, the authors examine what people do when they co-produce knowledge in criminal justice contexts: in prisons and youth detention centres; with criminalised women; from practitioners’ perspectives; and with First Nations communities.
Co-production holds a promise: that people whose lives are entangled in the criminal justice system can be valued as participants and partners, helping to shape how the system works. But how realistic is it to imagine criminal justice "service users" participating, partnering, and sharing genuine decision-making power with those explicitly holding power over them?
Taking a sophisticated yet accessible theoretical approach, the authors consider issues of power, hierarchy, and different ways of knowing to understand the perils and possibilities of co-production under the shadow of "justice". In exploring these complexities, this book brings cautious optimism to co-production partners and project leaders. The book provides a foundational text for scholars and practitioners seeking to apply co-production principles in their research and practice. With stories from Australia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, the text will appeal to the international community. For students of criminology and social work, the book’s critical insights will enhance their work in the field.
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Theorising and illustrating the collaborative practices of plural policing: an analysis of three cases in the Netherlands and Belgium. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice. 12 Aug 2022
van Stede, R
Abstract: This paper presents theoretical and empirical research on the collaborative practices of plural policing in the Netherlands and Belgium. It develops and operationalises an explanatory theoretical framework which consists of three factors: network ‘structure and technologies’, ‘culture and relationships’ and ‘governance and policy’. A qualitative analysis of three cases – the Johan Cruijff Arena (the Ajax soccer stadium in Amsterdam), the Nijmegen Four-Day March (a major walking event in the East of the Netherlands) and the Antwerp Diamond Quarter – illustrates that ‘structure and technologies’ and ‘culture and relationships’ are intertwined factors. The lack of a formalised structure for collaboration coincides with lower levels of mutual trust, which, in turn, disturbs the equilibrium that exists between interdependent actors. The state remains salient in anchoring the local security networks studied. Although private actors can act as governing nodes, they only prosper within the remit of government power and public legal authority.
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Lifting the lid on Pandora’s box: Putting professional curiosity into practice. Criminology & Criminal Justice. 08 August 2022
Phillips, J. Ainslie, S. Fowler. A & Westaby, C.
Abstract: Professional curiosity has recently become a ‘buzzword’ in the field of probation and social work. However, little research has sought to understand what professional curiosity means definitionally, conceptually or operationally. In this article, we analyse interview data from 49 probation practitioners in England and Wales to explore what professional curiosity means in the context of probation and what the main barriers are to enacting professional curiosity. We argue that professional curiosity is primarily used to assess risk and that practitioners face multiple barriers to its enactment which are rarely acknowledged or dealt with in policy and practice guides. These barriers fall into three groups: structural, relational and emotional. We conclude the article by examining the findings through the lens of neo-liberalism and probation values. The article therefore extends knowledge of professional curiosity operationally while also seeking to explain its position in a neo-liberal policy context. This research has important implications for policy and practice. Rather than simply asking practitioners to ask questions and be on the lookout for disguised compliance, probation providers should recognise and acknowledge these barriers to practice.
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Policing and social media: The framing of technological use by Canadian newspapers (2005–2020). Criminology & Criminal Justice. 06 August 2022
Walsh, J.P. Baker, V. & Frade B.
Abstract: As digital platforms that expand opportunities to create, distribute, and access content online, social media are transforming the policing landscape. While scholars have considered social media’s contradictory effects on police services’ public image and operational capacity, less is known about how patterns of technological use are reported within the mainstream press. Employing a mixed-methods content analysis, this article assesses how Canadian newspapers framed the policing-social media relationship over a 15-year period, and how such representations can affect public opinion and policy. It finds, despite minor fluctuations over time and across outlets, news organizations prioritized police perspectives and offered overwhelmingly favourable assessments with social media being constructed as a valuable tool of crime prevention and control. The broader implications of these findings for perceptions of law enforcement and relations between the news media and institutional power are provided.
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Towards a criminology of public inquiries: From cautious optimism to contestation in the Brook House Inquiry. Criminology & Criminal Justice. 06 August 2022
Schlembach, R & Hart E.L.
Abstract: Although UK public inquiries garner huge amounts of public attention, there have been few systematic studies of their role in scrutinising and reforming criminal justice policy and practice. This is despite a growing number of inquiries, held under the Inquiries Act 2005, into critical matters relating to policing, justice and home affairs. This article explores the contested nature of statutory inquiries as mechanisms for accountability and opportunity for policy reform. We suggest that inquiries provide fertile grounds for criminological analysis, if we understand them as sites of contestation where political priorities compete over questions of procedure, scope and participation. Our focus is on the Brook House Inquiry into the mistreatment of detainees in a British immigration removal centre. The analysis shows a tension between the public-facing nature of inquiries and their legalistic processes.
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Criminalising Gender Diversity: Trans and Gender Diverse People’s Experiences with the Victorian Criminal Legal System. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy 11(2) (2022)
Mitchell, M., McCrory, A., Skaburskis, I., & Appleton, B.
Abstract: Trans and gender diverse (TGD) people are disproportionately criminalised and face unique vulnerabilities when interacting with the criminal legal system. However, very little is known about TGD people’s experiences of criminalisation in Australia or the strategies TGD people and their advocates use to navigate the criminal legal system. Based on survey responses from TGD people with lived experience of criminalisation and lawyers with experience representing TGD clients, this article identifies several critical issues with the criminal legal system’s treatment of TGD people and outlines the strategies TGD people and their representatives suggest to address these issues. On this basis, we argue that criminologists and criminal legal practitioners urgently need to interrogate and work towards ameliorating the criminal legal system’s treatment of gender diversity. These insights will be crucial in informing future advocacy efforts and reform agendas, given that knowledge in this area is severely lacking.
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A Queer-Feminist Analysis of BDSM Jurisprudence in Common Law Courts. Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law (2022)
Jain, D. & Rhoten, K.
Abstract: In this Article, we explore the ways in which the legal system engages with litigants who practice bondage, discipline and domination and submission and sadomasochism (BDSM), examining salient case law and legislation from the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Despite gains in social acceptance of the sexual practice, we find that BDSM participants in criminal and family law courts are predominantly viewed as sexual deviants deemed worthy of moral censure and legal punishment. Criminal courts within all three jurisdictions have held that certain BDSM activities amount to violations of assault and battery laws. This is particularly true for those activities that the courts perceive as risking “serious” or “non-trivial” injury. As a result, even though the relevant battery and assault laws were not written with BDSM activities in mind, the courts nevertheless conflate certain sexual, pleasurable activities with criminalized non-pleasurable violence. Further, family law courts in the United States and Canada have denied adult parents who participate in consensual BDSM their full rights to child custody, finding that persons who engage in such court-determined “immoral activities" lack sufficient legal capacity to parent. These judgements indicate that court-operationalized censure against BDSM reached beyond the fundamental issue of sexual autonomy to other aspects of a litigant’s legal and social personhood, including their parental status.
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How Concentrated Are Police on Crime? a Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Concentration of Police Presence and Crime. Camb J Evid Based Polic (2022).
Dau, P.M., Dewinter, M., Witlox, F. et al. Research Question: What were the spatiotemporal patterns of police patrol in a major European city across the pre-COVID year of 2019, how did these patterns change over time, and to what extent did the concentrations of patrol correspond to concentrations of crimes? Data. We analyzed more than 77 million GPS signals from 130 police patrol cars showing where and when police patrols were present in police districts and street segments. We also plotted location, time and days of the week of the locations, and times of more than 50,000 recorded crimes. Methods. We calculated concentration ratios within both crimes and patrols relative to their distributions in time and space. We then compared the concentration ratios for crime to the concentration ratios for patrols. We concluded the analysis by comparing the extent to which concentrations of crime and patrol locations and times were overlapping. Findings. We found that police patrols, much like crime, were concentrated on a small proportion of street segments. Yet spatiotemporal police presence is unrelated to local levels of crime and crime concentration. Relative to temporal crime concentrations, police patrols were substantially under-concentrated from 1500 to 0100 h, all day on Fridays, and the entire months of June, July, August, and December. There was very little overlap in patrol concentrations with crime concentrations. Conclusions. After three decades of research showing crime prevention benefits of patrol concentrations on micro-level crime concentrations, police in one European city concentrate patrol presence at locations, times, days, and months where crime is not concentrated. Whether this conclusion can be reached in other cities will depend on replications of this study, both in Europe and other continents.
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Police Uses of Force in the USA: a Wealth of Theories and a Lack of Evidence. Camb J Evid Based Polic (2022).
McLean, K., Stoughton, S.W. & Alpert, G.P.
Research Question: How adequate is research in the USA for discovering best policies and practices, and best implementation strategies, for reducing loss of life and injury from police use of force. Data. This analysis examines police agency policies on the use of force regulation, evaluations of training initiatives, research on supervision, problem officers, and other dimensions of the issues and possible solutions. Methods. The analysis examines both documented correlates and the strength of causal inference about those correlates of reductions in the use of force. Findings. The analysis concludes that while many promising ideas have been offered, there are few tested strategies that have demonstrated substantial effects in reducing the use of force. There are virtually no successful strategies that have been replicated. Conclusions. The current proliferation of untested programs may divert effort from a coherent and well-funded program of research to test and select effective policies that are urgently needed.
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Police Uses of Force in the USA: a Wealth of Theories and a Lack of Evidence. Camb J Evid Based Polic (2022).
McLean, K., Stoughton, S.W. & Alpert, G.P.
Abstract: The use of force by the police remains a challenging and divisive issue in the USA and around the world. Although relatively rare in police encounters and typically coming in the form of low-level shoving and empty-hand controls (Adams, 1995), these physical uses of governmental authority can have a devastating impact on how the public perceives the police and how citizens respond to officers (Mourtgos & Adams, 2020). Since the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, concern over police use of force has reached a crescendo, spurred on by the blurred information and uninformed opinions that proliferate on social media.
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Law Society of NSW: Alcohol and alcohol use problems Biology, beliefs and behaviour
Date: Wednesday 17 August 2022
Time: 12.30pm – 1.30pm
Venue: Online - 1 CPD unit
Alcohol use problems are common in Australia, where alcohol is cheap, readily available, and heavily promoted. Nearly 1 in 4 Australians will develop an alcohol use disorder at some point in their life, with men more likely to develop problems than women.
While many view alcohol problems through a biological lens, there is a rich psychology involved that should not be overlooked. Many of the psychological processes that lead to an alcohol use disorder are the same ones involved in everyday, non-problem drinking - they are thoughts and behaviours that we all engage in.
These psychological processes are also the focus of evidence-based behavioural treatment. In this talk, we will take a closer look at some of these psychological processes, how to tell if they are causing alcohol problems, and discuss some strategies to manage them.
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The Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council invites you to an expert panel discussion exploring current sentencing trends of women and girls. Date: Wednesday 17 August 2022
Time: 6pm (registrations and cash bar from 5:30pm)
Venue: Underground Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse and live streamed online
(Light refreshments and tea/coffee provided)
About this event
New research by the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council (QSAC) shows that the number of women sentenced to imprisonment in Queensland has tripled since 2005.
Featuring a keynote address by the Hon Margaret McMurdo AC and expert panel discussion, this event will examine the myriad of reasons why women and girls are coming into contact with Queensland’s criminal justice system.
The Council will also share key findings from its forthcoming report on the sentencing of women and girls in Queensland.
Keynote speaker
The Hon Margaret McMurdo AC - former President of the Queensland Court of Appeal and former Chair of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce
Panel discussion
The panel discussion will be chaired by Professor Elena Marchetti - Griffith University and Deputy Chair, Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council.
Panel members
• Thelma Schwartz – Principal Legal Officer, QIFVLS
• Ruth O'Gorman QC, Barrister and Chair of Criminal Law Committee (BAQ)
• Debbie Kilroy OAM – CEO, Sisters Inside and member of QSAC
• Professor Thalia Anthony, Faculty of Law at University of Technology Sydney
• Natalie Lewis – Commissioner, Queensland Family and Child Commission
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Law Society of NSW, 2022 Conference and Member Awards
Date: 5-6 September 2022
Time: 8am - 6pm
Venue: Hilton Sydney or online
The Law Society is pleased to launch our inaugural Law Society Conference and Member Awards, a two-day immersive hybrid experience, in person and online, focusing on professional development and engagement uniting the legal profession.
The Conference will be a highlight in the legal calendar and one of the Law Society’s flagship events providing practitioners from across the entire profession with opportunities to learn, network and gain insights into must-know content to improve their practice. The informative and innovative program will explore issues and trends impacting today’s legal professional and will provide upskilling opportunities to ensure continued excellence in the delivery of legal services. The awards evening will recognise members and their valuable contribution to the profession and the community.
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The Crime Paradox Date: 17 September
Time: 2-3pm
Venue: Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh NSW
Rates of almost all crime in Australia have declined dramatically in recent decades, as they have in much of the rest of the world, with sexual assault a notable exception to this decline. But as crime has declined, the number of people in prison has increased alarmingly. Meanwhile in the world of popular culture, crime is everywhere. We are obsessed with crime stories making them major box office in every medium from the page to podcast to the big screen. What is going on?
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Exhibition: Portraits of Crime - Damien Linnane
Date: Saturday, 06 August 2022 – Wednesday, 05 October 2022
Time: 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM
About the exhibition
Criminal. Offender. Prisoner.
These words all carry a heavy stigma. Throughout history, however, legality has often been a matter of power, rather than justice or morality. Whether someone is considered a criminal is often subject to simply the time period, or country they were born into, and the inaction of the state to enact laws that are fair and just.
Slavery was legal, while those who freed slaves were persecuted. Apartheid was legal, while those who protested against it were imprisoned, and in some cases, killed.
At what point do yesterday’s criminals become heroes? And why do states often refuse to change outdated and unjust laws, until someone draws attention to the laws by breaking them? Portraits of Crime explores how we judge the action of past criminal actions today, and questions how we may judge the action of some current ‘crimes’ in the (hopefully) not too distant future. See PaperChained.com
Damien Linnane is a former prisoner, published novelist and illustrator, and PhD Candidate at the University of Newcastle's School of Law. His next art exhibition, 'Portraits of Crime', will be held at Charlestown Library in Newcastle from August 5 till October 5.
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2022 ANZSOC Conference
‘Transforming Criminology for the 2020’s and Beyond’
Date: Monday 28 – Wednesday 30 November
Venue: Darwin Convention Centre, Darwin NT
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Tutor in Crime, Media and Culture
The University of Sydney
The University of Sydney’s School of Social and Political Sciences is seeking a criminology tutor for Semester 2 (commencing on 3rd of August) for a third-year of the Criminology Major, Crime, Media and Culture. Please note, that this position is for on-campus teaching.
Tutor must possess an understanding of criminological theory and social theory with related research/teaching background, and have at least undergraduate level tertiary qualifications in criminology or a related field to be eligible.
Please email your expression of interest and CV to Estrella Pearce at estrella.pearce@sydney.edu.au
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Associate Professor or Professor in Criminology
University of Tasmania
Full time
Location: Hobart, Launceston
Categories: Balanced Research/Teaching
Joining the discipline of Sociology and Criminology in the School of Social Sciences which sits within the College of Arts, Law and Education, you’ll lead the expansion of teaching and research excellence and contribute to the enhancement of the School’s national and international profile. Working closely with industry, professional groups, the broader community and other academic disciplines, this is an opportunity to apply your passion for multi-disciplinary collaboration, building teams and fostering development.
Undertaking high-quality research and scholarly coursework teaching, you’ll provide innovative leadership across teaching and learning in Criminology. Contributing your insights to developing and implementing strategy, you will assist in the growth of Criminology as an integral part of the University’s academic community.
This balanced teaching and research position will play a key leadership role in cultivating a collegial environment that fosters the development of staff and students to achieve their highest potential.
As a forward-thinking people leader, we look forward to your vision for scholarly and policy impact in the context of new investments in research activity.
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2022 ANZSOC Conference
‘Transforming Criminology for the 2020’s and Beyond’
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS CLOSE: 15 August
The theme of the conference is ‘Transforming Criminology for the 2020’s and Beyond’.
Submissions are invited for the following presentation types, and the organising Committee strongly encourages participants to propose any of the following options that encourage audience participation and group discussion – this year we are hoping that individual paper presentations will be minimised in favour of integrated group presentations such as Panel discussions, Roundtables, and Lightning Talks. If you have an individual paper presentation, then why not get together with colleagues who are working on this together and submit a Panel or Roundtable?
Panel discussions: A panel discussion should contain four (or more) panellists focusing on a particular topic and one moderator. Panel submissions must include a title and a single abstract for the entire panel as well as all author information (presenting and contributing).
Roundtables: Roundtable sessions are less formal than other presentations. This is an opportunity to discuss related research / topics of interest in a conversational type of format. These sessions should include four to six presenters. Roundtable submissions must include a title and a single abstract for the entire roundtable as well as all author information (presenting and contributing).
Paper presentations: Classic paper presentation (15-minute presentation with five minutes for questions).
Lightning talks: Lightning talk sessions are a series of 5-minute presentations by different speakers, each introducing a topic or idea very quickly. Following the presentations, presenters and the audience can ask questions. Lightning talks are a way to share information about diverse topics from several presenters in an engaging and interactive way.
Author Meets Critics: These sessions are organized by an author or critic, consist of one author and four critics discussing and critiquing a recently published book. Submissions must include a title and abstract as well as information for the author and all critics.
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Teaching Fellow in Criminology & Criminal Justice
University of Portsmouth
Closing date: 14 August 2022
- The University of Portsmouth is an ambitious institution with a track record of success. One of only four universities in the south east of England to achieve a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework and ranked in the top 150 in the Times Higher Young University World Rankings.
The School is the largest criminology department in the UK with an established presence in undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral education, complemented by a successful applied criminology research profile. The University is aiming to be the top modern University and the Institute will make a significant contribution towards achieving this aim.
Our innovative criminology course provision covers campus-based, distance learning and postgraduate research students, in areas aligned to our research strengths. To support our continuing strategy we are seeking to recruit to these posts. Please see the specific job descriptions for details of the role. The posts will be based at the University of Portsmouth.
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PhD Scholarship in Criminology – Social Infrastructure in Prison: A focus on Indigenous Prisoners
Monash University
Employment Type: Full-time
Duration: 3-year and 3-month fixed-term appointment
The PhD Position
A competitive scholarship is available to undertake full-time PhD research as part of the ARC Discovery Grant project ‘Social Infrastructure in a Society of Captives: Promoting positive human connections in Australian prisons’ (DP210102508), led by Associate Professor Anna Eriksson, and based at the Faculty of Arts at the Clayton campus in Melbourne. This project explores how the concept of ‘social infrastructure’, normally applied to the city and local communities, can be applied to understanding daily life in a society of captives. We define social infrastructure as the places, programs and activities within the prison environment where prisoners have the opportunity to establish positive human connections, which has the potential to reduce the dehumanisation and related harms associated with imprisonment in Australia.
The scholarship is aimed at an Indigenous student, and the PhD Candidate, with support and guidance from the supervisory team, will develop an original project focused on Indigenous prisoners and social infrastructure. Social infrastructure in prisons is an innovative concept that provides the foundation for allowing prisoners to try on different, future-oriented roles. Such roles provide opportunities to move away from the identity of ‘prisoner’ or ‘criminal’ towards an identity that lays for the foundation for desistance post-release.
Key questions of the research would centre around how Indigenous cultures and communities’ approach and define positive social and interpersonal interaction, and how this can be translated into and supported in a carceral environment. A focus will be on how social infrastructure in prison can facilitate and support indigenous prisoners’ connections to self, others and, importantly, Country. Given the significant over-representation of Indigenous prisoners across Australia’s States and Territories, this PhD project will make an important contribution to knowledge in its own right.
The PhD Candidate will be required to undertake a scholarly literature review, conceptualise ‘indigenous social infrastructure’ and develop methods for measuring this, undertake fieldwork and data collection. The fieldwork can take place in any state or Territory in Australia and will be identified together with the supervision team. The PhD candidate will collaborate with local and international researchers in the Social Infrastructure in Prisons program.
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CALL FOR PAPERS: 40th Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Law and History Society – Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney
Conference Theme: Tenuous Histories and Provable Pasts: How Legal Historians Create Knowledge 1 – 3 December 2022
Due date: Monday 15 August 2022.
Lawyers and historians have long been aware that what is considered to be knowable and provable is a product of power, history and culture. Legal and historical ‘facts’ are themselves the result of historical processes. Since the 1960s, historians have sought to redress the omissions of state archives, particularly the erasure of First Nations, non-western, queer, female and working class peoples’ perspectives through the use of alternative archives and methods. But what about legal historians? How has legal history taken on board these political challenges? Does legal history – situated in law, with its supposedly ‘more rigorous’ standards of evidence – require more traditional forms of proof than other forms of history? What do we do in our own historical practice when we encounter fragments which suggest a richer history than we can prove: hints as to connections; the roles of shadowy people; lost institutions; unknowable causes; and backstories. How should we think about these fragmentary and unknowable moments, persons, things and connections? What role do speculation and conjecture play? How should we develop theories around the tenuous in legal history?What is required to ‘evidence’ our legal histories? What precisely are the epistemological premises of legal history?
Email to ANZLHS2022@uts.edu.au
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Research Division PhD Internship/ Researcher ProgramAustralian Government Department of Education
Deadline: 21-Aug-2022, 11:30 PM (AEST)
Duties and Responsibilities
- analysis and research into the sphere of research commercialisation and translation in Australia
- supporting senior officials in the assessment and evaluation of research translation funding applications
- supporting the monitoring of key developments in research relevant to current priorities and the broader government agenda
- supporting the communication of clear and compelling arguments through quality briefing and other written pieces which support the Minister for Education and senior executives
- supporting the evaluation of program outcomes using data analysis
Qualifications and Education
- Current enrolment in a PhD program is essentia
- Applicants from all streams encouraged to appl
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff are encouraged to apply
Eligibility
Please note, under section 22(8) of the Public Service Act 1999, employees must be Australian citizens to be employed in the APS unless the Agency delegate has agreed, in writing.
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Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency Awards
The ANZPAA NIFS Best Paper Awards recognise the literary contribution of authors from the Australian and New Zealand forensic science community. The Awards promote scientific research and encourage the sharing of learnings within the forensic and broader communities.
Entry Condition:
- The lead (first) author of the paper must submit the entry
- The lead author may only submit one entry per category
- The lead author must be from Australia or New Zealand
- At least one author must be a current forensic practitioner working in an Australian or New Zealand police or government agency or crown institute
- The lead author agrees that the Award judging committee may reallocate entries across categories or agree to allocate awards within a discipline sub-category
- Papers must be published or made available online as a corrected proof no more than 12 months before the entry closure date, midnight (AEST), 31 August, each year.
- The lead author must send a completed ANZPAA NIFS Best Paper Awards - Application Form and an electronic copy of the award entry to secretariat.nifs@anzpaa.org.au
The following categories will be awarded:
Best Paper: Forensic Fundamentals
Best Paper: Capability Enhancement and Innovation
Best Technical Article, Note or Case Study
Best Literature Review
Best New Publisher in a Refereed Journal
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PhD Fellow in NetworkCriminologyGhent University
Deadline: 31 August 2022.
Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy at Ghent University are recruiting one full-timePhD studentwith an interest in applyingnetworktheoryand agent based modeling for the FWO research project “Interdependencies of Serial and Co-Offending Networks in Space and Time”.Youwill be expected to completea PhD study on the topic of “Interdependencies of Serial and Co-Offending Networks in Space and Time”. The main goal is to develop an understanding ofhowserial and co-offending behaviors are interdependent in space and time. To do so,you will apply network theory and agent based modeling on an integrated dataset of police recorded crime data and forensic biometric data.You will take primary responsibility for the scientific preparation, follow-up, implementation, and completion of this project. This includes the collection, processing, and analysis of police recorded crime data and forensic biometric data, as well as presenting intermediate results at international conferences and publishing findings in academic journals.
The expected starting dateis 1 November 2022 at the earliest and 1 January 2023 at the latest.
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Call for Submissions: Safer Communities youth justice special issue
Deadline: 29 August 2022
This special issue focuses on “theory and practice of co-production and co-creation in youth justice” settings. This is timely, given the noticeable shift towards a participation culture as part of the Youth Justice Board’s Child First agenda in England and Wales (YJB, 2021) and recommendations for pursuing increased participatory rights-based practices to facilitate children’s meaningful involvement in the design, delivery, and evaluation of youth justice services (Peer Power/YJB 2021).
The editors anticipate the articles in this special issue will present evidence and research both nationally and internationally, on how to reverse unequal power dynamics by utilising children’s knowledge and expertise, while also gaining trust and empathy through the sharing of lived experiences. More specifically, this involves discussion on how principles of co-production can be utilised in the field of youth justice with those under supervision.
Essentially, the purpose of this special issue is to offer a critical perspective on the facilitators and barriers to the theory and practice of co-production and co-creation in youth justice.
Potential areas of interest include (but are not limited to):
- How Child First, restorative, trauma informed, and desistance-based models can be co-produced/co-created.
- Typologies, theories and models of participation and co-production.
- Arts-based programmes and interventions
- Experiential peer support and mentorship
- Co-producing resources to address access problems and to enhance engagement
- Perspectives from practitioners and those with lived experience
- Educational development projects and collaborative approaches to curriculum design and delivery
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Associate Professor/Professor University of Sydney Law School
Exciting opportunity to contribute to the research & teaching in criminal law/criminology
Located on the University’s Camperdown Campus
Full time, ongoing role with one of the best law schools in the world
About the opportunity
The University of Sydney Law School is one of the best law schools in the world for teaching and research, our students learn from globally recognised legal educators and highly respected professional practitioners. Our internationally renowned researchers are working to deliver real-world change in Australia and overseas. The School is ranked 16th in the QS World Universities Rankings 2022 for the discipline of law.
Sydney Law School is seeking to appoint an outstanding academic at the level of Associate Professor or Professor (Level D/E) to join a team and lead the research and teaching in the field of Criminal Law and Criminology. The position will play a significant role in contributing to the academic endeavours within the Discipline of Criminal law and Criminology in Sydney law School. The position contributes to fostering a culture of excellence through their own expertise and through guiding academic staff and students towards success. This position is expected to play a role in the leadership of the Sydney Institute of Criminology.
About you (skills, capabilities and experience)
The successful candidate will
- hold a PhD or equivalent higher research degree in relevant academic field.
- have a law degree.
- have an established record of effective teaching, research and established scholarship, as well as professional accomplishments consistent with the rank of associate or professor in the field of criminal law (procedure, history and theory), criminal justice (policing and sentencing) or criminology broadly understood.
- possess in depth knowledge and understanding of the key strategic issues in the higher education sector.
- Demonstrated understanding of the University’s organisational culture and values.
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Indigenous Academic (All levels) University of Melbourne
Deadline: 24 Oct 2022, 11:55 PM
Only Indigenous Australians are eligible to apply as this position is exempt under the Special Measure Provision, Section 12 (1) of the Equal Opportunity Act 2011 (Vic).
This call for Expressions of Interest seeks talented First Nations scholars to join the Faculty of Arts, at any level and in any of the Faculty’s disciplinary fields.
They invite the submission of a CV and a cover letter outlining (1) your research agenda, (2) your teaching experience, (3) relevant partnerships and community engagement, and (4) your interest in the Faculty of Arts. On review of the EOI, they may choose to invite a more detailed application encompassing key selection criteria at a level commensurate to experience. Reviews of EOI will take place three times a year, at the end of February, June and October.
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BLOGS, INTERVIEWS & PODCASTS
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New insights into the impacts of violence and trauma during childhood could support reduction in youth offending
25 JULY AUGUST 2022 A new ANROWS report, Adverse childhood experiences among youth who offend: Examining exposure to domestic and family violence for male youth who perpetrate sexual harm and violence, provides further evidence that experiences of trauma and neglect in childhood lead to patterns of violent offending among male youth in Australia.
Researchers from Griffith University used the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) framework to examine two large existing Queensland youth offender datasets, and found that young males who went on to commit offences had commonly experienced high rates of ACEs in their childhood. This was especially true for young men who had committed sexual offences. Sexual offending was also strongly correlated with childhood exposure to domestic and family violence, along with overall experiences of physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse and neglect in their childhood.
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Q+A at Garma 2022
Q+A returns with a special program from north-east Arnhem Land, broadcasting from the Garma Festival, Australia’s largest Indigenous cultural gathering. Three years after the event was last held, Indigenous elders, politicians and cultural leaders will meet for this significant occasion.
The festival is a celebration of the cultural, artistic and ceremonial traditions of the Yolngu people – this year’s is based around the theme of “Nhanga Ngathilyurra”, meaning to look ahead towards the future – and comes amid Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s commitment to hold a referendum to enshrine a Voice for First Nations people in the Constitution.
The new PM says he’s “determined to get this done” and that there have been too many years of “drift”, pledging he will proceed even without bipartisan support. Indigenous leaders say much progress has been made on implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Mr Albanese will be at Garma but it’s not yet clear what he’ll be announcing – could we be moving closer to setting a date for the referendum?
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